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Slide show of recent activities
at Tsegylgar East
Photo credits: Jacqueline Gens, Paula Barry, and Marit Cranmer | | |
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Tsegyalgar East Newsletter, Winter 2012
Greetings TSEGYALGAR EAST Friends and Members of the Dzogchen Community,The Tsegyalgar East Gakyil has a number of announcements of interest we would like to share with you. Please follow the links for further information on each topic.
Blue: Lori Leff, Robyn Kinsey, Jacqueline Gens
Yellow: John LaFrance and Vern Harrington
Red: John Foster, Kathy McGrane, Joe Zurylo
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Losar Greetings from Tsegyalgar East |  | | | Click to Expand |
Best Wishes for Losar, Year of the Water Dragon
Tsegyalgar East Gakyil |
REPORT FROM THE BLUE GAKYIL Tsegyalgar East Practice and Retreats |  | |
SUMMER RETREATS
with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu
Tsegyalgar East is honored to host our master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu this summer. As part of his US tour, Rinpoche will teach in Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York and at Tsegyalgar East from July 6-17, 2012.
For full summer retreat information with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu including Vajra Dance and Yantra Yoga courses with Prima Mai and Fabio Andrico, click here
For HOUSING OPTIONS visit: Accommodations
To REGISTER ONLINE for the July 6-10, 2012 Retreat with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu , Click here
There is an additional 5% discount for Early Bird Registration prior to May 1, 2012
To REGISTER ONLINE for the July 10 & 11, 2012 Retreat on Breathing and Kumbhaka with Fabio Andrico, Click here
There is an additional 5% discount for Early Bird Registration prior to May 1, 2012
To REGISTER ONLINE for the July 10 & 11, 2012 Vajra Dance Retreat with Prima Mai supervising Leela Whitcomb-Hewitt, Click here
There is an additional 5% discount for Early Bird Registration prior to May 1, 2012
To REGISTER ONLINE for the July 13-17, 2012 SMS Level I Retreat with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Click here
There are NO DISCOUNTS for SMS retreats.
Practice is at the heart of our Community life together based on the transmission of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, the founder and director of the International Dzogchen Community. Tsegyalgar East offers a variety of courses with certified teachers in Santi Maha Sangha, Vajra Dance and Yantra Yoga, as well as many retreats of collective practices. Tsegyalgar East also supports retreats by Yeshe Namkhai, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu's son who teaches internationally.
The Blue Gakyil oversees the development of local programming and updating the calendar of special events and weekly practices on the Tsegyalgar East website. Check back frequently for confirmation of all events. During the winter months we request that on occasion everyone who practices at the Gar donate what they can to our heating fund in the container located in the gonpa.
One of the Blue Gakyil goals for 2012 is to better coordinate our communications well in advance of events so that participants can plan their retreats.
USING THE EVENTS CALENDAR and our website at www.tsegyalgar.org
Everyday the Blue Gakyil in collaboration with our webmaster Nancy Paris uploads, corrects and reviews our calendars of Weekly Practices and Special Events at Tsegyalgar East. If you haven't used our online calendars in awhile or ever, you'll be amazed at the rich display of community activity at the Gar. Please send us your comments, questions, gripes and notification of errors you perceive and we will try to address any problems promptly. A recent request was to provide a glossary of Tibetan and Sanskrit terms we use.
For ongoing Weekly Practices including pujas, yantra and vajra dance visit: Weekly Calendar
For Tsegylalgar East Special Events retreats, courses, and workshops click here: Special Events Calendar
TSEGYALGAR EAST MEMBER PAGES
It is now possible to access all Gakyil minutes online through our Members only pages, which also contains an unmoderated discussion and information forum on all sorts of topics. Please join in the conversation. Write or call the secretary Harold, for your Members Area user and password at secretary@tsegyalgar.org or 413-369-4153
SLIDE SHOW OF RECENT EVENTS AT TSEGYALGAR EAST
Enjoy our slide show of recent activities at Tsegyalgar East. We hope to see you soon.
PHOTO CREDITS: Jacqueline Gens, Paula Barry, and Marit Cranmer |
NEWS FROM THE YELLOW GAKYIL Fundraising and Membership |  | |
2012 MEMBERSHIPS AT TSEGYALGAR EAST
Traditionally, the New Year marks our annual request for membership renewal for Tsegyalgar East. This token of giving while necessary for sustaining the physical infrastructure of our community from year to year at Tsegyalgar East can never match the priceless gift of the teachings we have all received from our Masters, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and Khyentse Yeshe. Membership is an acknowledgement of our appreciation and a serious pledge of trust that we will take responsibility for the continuity of the transmission for future generations. In this context, membership goes beyond financial giving by including our vow to respect and collaborate with our Vajra brothers and sisters unconditionally while we participate fully in the Dzogchen Community according to our capacity.
Generosity is the basis of this commitment which can manifest in marvelous ways. No gesture or amount is too insignificant. One day this past summer as I walked down the dirt road from the Vajra Hall at Khandroling, I noticed that our gekö had mowed the wild grasses around the bathhouse and stupa. This simple gesture of tidiness and attention to the environment deeply touched me. The land was cared for and all the world shimmered in the afternoon sun on this sacred spot. This week, another practitioner noticing that the Schoolhouse library was looking a bit dreary undertook to refurbish the room economically and tastefully so that it is now an uplifted space in which to study, meet and hold classes. It is amazing what one can do with so little investment. Each of us in our own way can and have made similar contributions to benefit the well being of our community. We don t need to be philanthropists to maintain our community but can accomplish so much with our ingenuity, heartfelt connection and loving goodwill.
We have a great living example of generosity in the form of our Master, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. Without his supreme and tireless generosity there would be no Dzogchen Community, the main support for practitioners to enter more deeply in the Teachings. So it is in that spirit that we ask you to meet the Teacher, the Teaching and the Sangha where it counts – to help support the physical place that allows us the pursue this wonderful and precious gift of the Dzogchen Teachings together.
We are very fortunate this year because Chögyal Namkhai Norbu has included the US and Tsegyalgar East in his very busy teaching schedule. Rinpoche will be coming to Conway in July 2012 and offering a general teaching retreat as well as the base level of Santi Maha Sangha. For more information you can go to www.tsegyalgar.org for details about all the retreats with Rinpoche as well as activities such as Yantra Yoga, Vajra Dance, SMS Retreats and Karmayoga.
The Tsegyalgar East gakyil sincerely thanks all of you who have given your energy, funding and support over the years. There are so many untold stories of generosity over the past three decades. For those of you who are newer members or considering membership, we look forward to having you join our family bringing us the bounty of your talent and skills. If you have been absent for awhile, please come back to us whenever you can or at least stay in touch. We miss your energy and participation. There is such richness in our diverse community.
Together we can do anything to make the transmission of our masters flourish "As long as there is a human realm," to quote Chögyal Namkhai Norbu about our future care for Khandroling.
Jacqueline Gens & Naomi Zeitz
ABOUT TSEGYALGAR EAST'S FINANCIAL SITUATION
Tsegyalgar East's current financial situation is a bit difficult to explain as it's tied to a transition in which the community is maintaining the Conway Schoolhouse while simultaneously developing Upper and Lower Khandroling as the future locus of community activities. Until we can develop a clear plan for handling the transition including a clear understanding about the possible future uses of the Conway Schoolhouse and what facilities are needed on Khandroling, the Gakyil has decided not to sell the Schoolhouse at this time. The original plan to shut it down for the winter months proved costly and damaging to the building. Fortunately, Rinpoche is coming this year and we can receive his suggestions and advice on how to move forward. In the meantime the Gakyil is making strong efforts to control expenses while increasing revenues from memberships and rentals in order to pay for basic operating expenses without being dependent on retreats.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR MEMBERSHIP AND TSEGYALGAR EAST FINANCESt
For 2012 Tsegyalgar East's Gakyil has adopted two budget goals. Our primary goal is to cover basic operating expenses (things like payroll, maintenance, utilities, insurance, taxes etc) with revenues from memberships and rentals. The other major area of expenses is related to retreats and the ongoing teaching program of the Dzogchen Community. Our goal here is to insure that all retreats and teachings result in positive cash flow that can be used for capital improvements, reserves and future program growth.
PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP BY THE END OF 2012
In order for us to meet the first goal of financial sustainability we need members to renew their memberships no later than the end of January 2012. Renewals can by paid for in a lump sum or on a monthly or quarterly basis depending on your circumstances. Whichever way you chose to pay for your renewal, it is most important that we have a good idea of the total number of renewals by the end of January so that we can adjust our expenses to match our projected income for the year. Currently there are about 345 members of Tsegyalgar East. If everyone renews at the same level as last year with the new membership rates we can begin to stabilize the financial future of the Gar.
John LaFrance, Treasurer
To renew your membership online visit:
www.tsegyalgar.org/support/onlinemembership/
VAJRA HALL FUNDRAISING AND UPDATE
The Vajra Hall Team sends its greetings to the world-wide Dzogchen Community. During these days while we are preparing to enter the New Year of the Water Dragon of 2012, many of us are sewing and preparing to mount Tibetan prayer flags.
These flags with their prayers printed upon them will flutter in the wind all over the world in all kinds of climate-- from the frosty cold to the hot and humid, as they deliver their function.
We extend our prayers for world peace and harmony for all; prosperity and well-being for our Masters and Vajra Sisters and Brothers; as they flutter between treetops and stupas, gonpas and homes, porches and yards through out the world wherever there is the presence of the Dzogchen Community.
As part of this intention, The Vajra Hall team would like to request a prayer for all of our projects to come to fruition. In most of our Gar's and Lings new buildings are being raised. Here at Tsegyalgar East, the Vajra Hall team want to thank all of our Vajra sisters and brothers who supported building the only structure yet on this planet to house the Universal Mandala at the seat of Dakini Goma Devi on Khandroling, The Land of the Dakinis.
So when we hang our flags and see them take action in the wind let us all give a moment of our intention that our buildings and community projects will be completed without complications or financial struggles and with the blessings of the elements and all of the enlightened devas and dakinis, dharmapalas and our precious lineage masters.
Thank you and Happy Losar from the Vajra Hall Group.
Visit our Vajra Hall Webpages
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NEWS FROM THE RED GAKYIL |  | |
KARMA YOGA 2012
Tsegyalgar East is delighted that Chogyal Namkhai Norbu will be coming to Tsegyalgar East and Khandroling in the summer of 2012. Plans are well underway to host his long awaited presence.
Beginning in May through October 2012, there will be an organized Karma Yoga Internship Program for a number of dedicated individuals who wish to assist us for longer periods of one-three months, especially in the development of Khandroling facilities and maintenance of the land. As part of this program, Joe Zurylo of the Red Gakyil will personally supervise each project.
NEW !!! THREE MONTH SUMMER PRACTICE AND KARMA YOGA ENCAMPMENT ON KHANDROLING
May 25-September 1, 2012
Generations of Dzogchen practitioners have gathered together in seasonal encampments to practice, work and live together in a community dedicated to cultivating one's awareness. This summer Tsegyalgar East will host for the first time a three month Encampment from Memorial to Labor Day, in what we hope will become an annual event. Especially open to beginners.
By application only with a limit of 12 participants. APPLY HERE
Read More...
Shorter periods of Karma Yoga are also available and include administrative work, housekeeping, parking and support before, during and after the July retreats with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu.
TSEGYALGAR EAST is still looking to sign up many summer retreat team members. Contact the geko@tsegyalgar.com if you would like to offer your skills and energy.
For SMS Karma Yoga requirements, contact the SMS liaisons Robyn Kinsey at rkinsey145@gmail.com and Lori Leff at lorileff@yahoo.com
TSEGYALGAR EAST SCHOOLHOUSE UPDATE
In 2011 a major reassessment of the Schoolhouse was undertaken, key improvements were identified and consideration for the future determined that selling the schoolhouse was an antidote to our community financial challenges. Upon review, it became clear that we would be unable to sell the schoolhouse in its present condition, since it would not pass inspection for a new buyer; major repairs, such as the septic system (est: $70,000), would have to be undertaken first. In addition, shutting the school down for the winter would be more expensive than keeping it open and damaging to an old building. Recent boiler repair was costly; attic repair and insulation are underway. So we have elected to keep it open, hoping for membership income to see us through. Future use proposals welcome. At present the Schoolhouse is host to hundreds of weekly practices sessions and community practice programs
throguhout the year.
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REFORESTATION PROJECT UPDATE
On Upper Khandroling, at Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's behest, the gakyil intends to reshape some of the land to create a healthy, living forest. Towards this end, the gakyil has applied to the state of Massachusetts for an EQIP grant to cut down sections of trees, restoring wildlife habitat and inviting the animals to return. The state regards the trees we have as "junk" forest and is anxious to help with rehabilitation of the property. All hardwood was cut and sold by the previous owner. There are very few valuable trees left, and they are nearing the end of their life. The map shown outlines the areas involved. 13.5 acres will be laid open (we have 215 acres), including both sides of the road leading up to the stupa, the area around Rinpoche's cabin and the Mandarava cabin, and one side of the area around the Universal Mandala which will restore a view of the countryside. If we win the grant, the project will take place in the fall of 2012.
We would have preferred to selectively cut only certain trees, but that is dangerous and slow work that we would have to do ourselves. The state can provide us with professional help, on their terms, and can contribute to the expense. We might even be able to sell the resulting wood pulp to defray costs. The cut may be a bit extreme but ultimately beneficial, and, if we are successful and the state approves what we've done, next year we will be able to apply for a grant to create highly desirable meadowland/pasture. This is an experiment that looks to the future of the community. Once cleared, we expect to be able to plant Christmas trees and berry bushes in these areas. Over time, we would like to create a park, as it should be.
During the retreat, Rinpoche will have the opportunity to survey what we've proposed and we will, of course include any modifications he suggests. |
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE MIRROR |  | |
Dear Friends,
The first issue of The Mirror for 2012, January/February number 114, will be printed and online at the end of February. If you would like to access the new issue, it is essential that you let us know about your membership for the year as soon as possible. Subscription to the newspaper is not automatically renewed on our database each year, it has to be done manually so the sooner we know about your 2012 membership, the faster we can update you on our database. In this way, you will be able to read all the 2012 issues as they are published.
This year 2012 we are happy to announce that sustainers and meritorious members at Tsegyalgar East and West will automatically receive The Mirror in paper form as part of their membership. This may not continue into the future. Printing and mailing weigh heavily on our costs so we have increased the cost of the paper version to the Gars and the Gars may not be able to sustain that cost into the future, so individuals may be required to pay for their own paper versions. At Merigar East and West this has already been instituted.
Sustainers and Meritorious members everywhere will, however, be able to download their issues in PDF and now have access to ALL the issues of The Mirror, from the very first one published in 1990, online and downloadable as PDFs.
IF READING THE MIRROR ONLINE AS IT IS IS NOT COMFORTABLE FOR YOU, THERE ARE DOWNLOADABLE PDFS AVAILABLE FOR ORDINARY AND REDUCED MEMBERS. ONCE YOU GO INTO THE ARCHIVE WITH YOUR USER NAME AND PASSWORD AND CLICK ON AN ISSUE, THE POSSIBILITY TO PURCHASE PDF'S POPS UP. THE PDFS ARE 3 EURO PER PDF AND 15 EURO FOR ONE YEAR!
We are doing our best to update our database of readers in the best way possible but need your help for this. To continue or to start reading The Mirror we need to know about your 2012 membership and your current email address so that we can send you a username and password to access the issues online. For paper we should have your correct postal address. Please send this information to your membership Gakyil and secretary with your 2012 membership as soon as possible.
The first issue of 2012 will be on the news stands at the end of February.
Hope to hear from you soon!
The editors of The Mirror
Naomi Zeitz and Liz Granger
www.melong.com
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NEWS FROM A.S.I.A.Dear Friends,
Last Christmas we asked you for a truly special present: to help us support a group of orphaned children who are living in makeshift tents and lacking any provisions.
Today, we are glad to communicate that we have hit the target.
These days we are organizing a mission to deliver the tents and winter clothes to the children.
Thanks to you all from the heart.
As you well know the situation in Yushu is still very difficult. Although almost two years have passed since the earthquake, the living conditions of the population, for the most part made up of Tibetans, are still very difficult.
We will continue to do our job. Our priority is to take care of all those children who were left alone after the quake and today have no help. Helping the children means sustaining the future of Yushu.
Please, continue to support us.
Donate Yushu
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News from Shang Shung Institute of America |  | |
Shang Shung Institute's School of Tibetan Medicine USA
The Year of the Water Dragon was off with a great start for the SSI's School of Tibetan Medicine.
Our 750-hour, Tibetan Kunye Massage Program is now underway. The first of its kind, this 1 ½ year program provides the most advanced training offered anywhere in the US or abroad. Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo began teaching a group of enthusiastic students on January 26th of this year: graduates will be trained for the professional workplace, and may apply to the Board of Registration of Massage Therapy for licensure as massage therapists in the state of Massachusetts, or other states throughout the US, upon completion of the program. We thank all the many people interested in discovering when will be the program's next offering of classes, and we will be announcing the new class' s up-and-coming start date later this year.
But we have more good news! In early February the Massachusetts Board of Education gave us permission to launch the new four year on-line Tibetan Medicine, which we are doing our best to begin on the auspicious date of April 11th, 2012. The program will be offering students around the world the rare opportunity to learn the ancient art of Tibetan Medicine from our revered Director of Education, Menpa Phuntsog Wangmo and her esteemed colleagues. Of course, classes will also be available on-site for US citizens and US legal residents who would like to receive these teachings in person.
We extend a heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to the Medical School's graduating class of 2012. They have completed their written final exams on the cusp of Losar, and they will leave at the end of March for their optional internship at the Mtsho Sngon Tibetan hospital in Qinghai, P.R.C.
For more information, or to request enrollment applications for the Tibetan Medical Program, please direct your inquiries to secretary@shangshung.org .
Everyone here at SSI "USA School of Tibetan Medicine wishes you a joyous and prosperous New Year!
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Thanks to our Administrative Staff and VolunteersThe Tsegyalgar East Gakyil would like to thank the many individuals who participate in the running of our Gar. Special thanks to our secretaries Harold Graves for the Dzogchen Community and Bret Bourman for Shang Shung who work far beyond their paid hours; Andrea Laurence, our temporary Geko filling in for Soledad Suarez; Asruh Warner for Bookeeping; Martin Bobak, manager of the Shang Shung Bookstore; Naomi Zeitz of the The Mirror; and our many friends of the Gakyil: Nancy Paris, Marilyn McArthur, Diane Sievers, Al Daggett, among others. |
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